Lin Ye took on Yu Guanghui's house as his first project, and he tried his best to do everything himself, from design to construction.
He refused Lu Wanqing's request to go to the county town.
Her belly was already bulging, and she was walking like a penguin, so naturally she was worried.
At her insistence, Lin Xiaocui had no choice but to accompany her.
Lin Xiaocui was very careful when riding her bicycle, afraid that the baby in her belly would be jolted.
However, they soon arrived at the Guangming Guesthouse without incident.
Lu Wanqing found the makeup bag and old clothes she had prepared in advance and changed her and Lin Xiaocui's makeup.
"Sister-in-law, you look like a country woman now. I never expected you to be so good at makeup, you've completely transformed!" Lin Xiaocui exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Wanqing smiled and said, "I'm just a village woman! Let's stay here and see who Yu Meifeng associates with."
The two booked a room at the guesthouse and then sat on the wooden chairs at the entrance.
"Sister-in-law, why don't you go and rest? I'll let you know if anything happens!" Lin Xiaocui said worriedly when she saw Lu Wanqing's belly.
Three months later, Lu Wanqing stopped experiencing morning sickness, and her body did not become cumbersome due to her pregnancy. Because of drinking the spiritual spring water, her constitution was very good, and she did not feel tired as before.
"It's okay, I'll stay with you!" she insisted.
The two had been sitting for a short while when Zhou Ling came in, her face wrapped in a silk scarf despite the sweltering heat.
The staff at the guesthouse asked her who she was looking for, but she ignored them and went straight to Yu Meifeng's room.
Lu Wanqing and Lin Xiaocui exchanged a glance and followed her.
Through the door, the two could hear the conversation inside.
"Sister Meifeng, my mother sent me a message asking me to get money home. Could you pay me this month's allowance in advance?" Zhou Ling's voice was both ingratiating and urgent.
Yu Meifeng was silent for a while before slowly saying, "Huang Ming hasn't given me the money yet, so where am I supposed to get the money to pay you? Besides, I've already given you quite a bit of money. If you keep asking for more, aren't you being a bit greedy?"
“I didn’t want to either, but my mother raised me for over twenty years. I can’t very well refuse her when she asks me for a little money. You have no idea how envious they are when they see your family building a house,” Zhou Ling said in a humble voice.
Her only source of income now is Yu Meifeng, so she has to humble herself and not provoke her!
"Alright, alright, none of your family members are good people. They married you off to an idiot and made you suffer. Why are you still thinking about them? Come back in a few days, and I'll give you a hundred yuan back." Yu Meifeng had no patience for her and dismissed her.
Lu Wanqing and Lin Xiaocui quickly slipped into their room.
Soon after, they heard the door open and Zhou Ling's footsteps.
Lin Xiaocui put her hand to her lips and thought for a moment before saying, "Sister-in-law, how did Zhou Ling get involved with Yu Meifeng and start exchanging money? It feels like they're doing something shady."
Lu Wanqing also felt that nothing good could come of the two of them being together, and it might be related to the clothing business, so she told Lin Xiaocui to go out and follow Zhou Ling to see if she had made any breakthroughs.
Lin Xiaocui excitedly opened the door, then turned back a little worriedly, "Sister-in-law, are you sure you'll be alright by staying here?"
"Don't worry, it's alright." Lu Wanqing smiled and pushed her out.
She was pregnant, but not a patient, and she had her own personal space. Even if someone tried to kill her with a knife, she wouldn't be hurt!
More than an hour later, Lin Xiaocui returned, panting, and brought Lu Wanqing some shocking news.
It turned out that after leaving the guesthouse, Zhou Ling went to Lao Xu's tailor shop. Lin Xiaocui noticed that she seemed to be very familiar with the shop owner, especially the shop owner's daughter, and the two were chatting and laughing together.
After Zhou Ling left, Lin Xiaocui entered the tailor shop as a customer. When she said she wanted to make clothes, Xu Tianshou told her that the clothes would take a month to make and that if she was in a hurry, she could go to another shop.
Who would push business away?
Lin Xiaocui became suspicious and made various inquiries before discovering that several tailors inside were rushing to make cheongsams!
She also found out that Zhou Ling's in-laws and Xu Tianshou were relatives, and Zhou Ling had been coming to the store frequently in the past month or two.
"Sister-in-law, the cheongsams Xu Tianshou makes at his shop look very similar to the ones you make. Could they be imitations of yours?" Lin Xiaocui analyzed.
Lu Wanqing murmured, "That makes sense!"
"What makes sense?" Lin Xiaocui asked, noticing her thoughtful expression.
Lu Wanqing then explained, "I'm currently supplying Huang Ming with clothes for fifty yuan a piece, which has already reduced the cost to ten yuan a piece. If he were to use my clothes to make imitations, the cost would probably be less than five yuan. If he were to sell them to Yu Meifeng, even if it only cost twenty yuan, it would still be a huge profit."
"In other words, Yu Meifeng met Xu Tianshou through Zhou Ling and then copied your clothes," Lin Xiaocui concluded.
"Did Huang Ming know about this? The cheongsams you made all have embroidery, which they couldn't possibly replicate. Huang Ming would have noticed it as soon as he saw the clothes," Lin Xiaocui continued.
Lu Wanqing pursed her lips. She wasn't sure if Huang Ming knew. After all, embroidery on a cheongsam was just icing on the cake. Her cheongsam designs were novel enough that even without it, they would still be beautiful and wouldn't have a significant impact on sales.
After hearing Lu Wanqing's analysis, Lin Xiaocui was so angry she almost blew smoke. "What Yu Meifeng did was fraud! She first took clothes from you as samples, then copied them to make money. No wonder she had money to build a house for her family!"
“Unfortunately, some laws are not sound right now. Our clothes are sold, but we don’t have copyright. Even if we report it to the police, there’s nothing we can do. Besides, I signed an agreement with Huang Ming.” Lu Wanqing clenched her fists.
She may not earn money, but she will not let others take advantage of her.
Remembering that Mu Xiaoting had been helping out at Tiger's place for the past two days, Lu Wanqing pulled Lin Xiaocui along to find her.
After hearing Lu Wanqing's story, Mu Xiaoting was furious and immediately grabbed her, wanting to go find Pan Jun.
Pan Jun's father was the head of the supply and marketing department of the silk factory. As long as he didn't sell silk fabrics to Xu Tianshou, he would be like a skilled cook without rice.
She was certain that her father would never allow her to sell the silk fabric to counterfeiters.
"Then invite him out, and I'll treat you to a meal!" Lu Wanqing said.
These days, she can only buy silk fabrics with Pan Jun's help, and she should thank him long ago.
Mu Xiaoting then made a phone call to Pan Jun.
Pan Jun gladly accepted the invitation, but when he discovered that it was Lu Wanqing who had invited him to dinner, a fleeting look of disappointment crossed his eyes.
However, he soon started chatting with several people in a very open manner.
He was also very angry when he learned of Lu Wanqing's ordeal.
In this day and age, counterfeit and shoddy goods are still rare. If someone is known to be making counterfeits, they are deeply hated.
Unexpectedly, Huang Ming and Yu Meifeng were making counterfeit clothes in the county town and selling them in the port city. Wasn't that a disgrace to the county town?
We definitely can no longer supply silk fabrics to Lao Xu's tailor shop!
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